NEW Leicester star Scott Nicholls admitted it was a “very tough night” as they went down heavily at Poole.
It was very much a match of two halves for the Lions as they led by two points after the first six races.
But Pirates brought the meeting interval forward to “allow the sun to go down” after Heat 7 and from then on it was all about the home side.
They ripped into seven successive 5-1s to leave the Lions reeling and eventually won by 58-32 on a hot night at Wimborne Road.
Nicholls, who scored seven points, said: “We were right in the meeting and it was a pretty decent start for all of us. But I don’t know what Neil Middleditch put in the Pirates tea after Heat 7 but they were a different team after that.
“They were just making starts consistently after that and we had no answer. It’s very frustrating but I guess you have those days.”
Another new Lion Stuart Robson had a steady night at No7 with paid six points but admitted he wanted to do more.
He added: “Poole just seemed to find another gear after Heat 7. We started really well and everything was working for us.
“But then they just went from strength-to-strength and we couldn’t seem to find the way to get out of the start.”
Nicholls won his opening two races but spun round while battling for the lead with Richie Worrall in Heat 9.
Every Lion had their moments but simply not on enough occasions to deal with a rampant Poole side who were excellent on the night, especially Chris Harris who produced two late excellent bursts from the back.
POOLE 58: Brady Kurtz 12+2, Chris Harris 11+1, Nicolai Klindt 10+1, Frederik Jakobsen 9+1, Kacper Woryna 6+1, Josh Grajczonek 5+3, Richie Worrall 5+1.
LEICESTER 32: Hans Andersen 7+1, Scott Nicholls 7, Stuart Robson 5+1, Charles Wright 4+1, Ricky Wells 4+1, Josh Auty 4, Connor Mountain 1.
